Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Entry 1156 - Nightwish - Wishmaster

Style: Operatic power metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Everything that was started on Oceanborn is amped up even further on this album

Thoughts: To relive the glory days. I know a lot of times I say that "the old material is better," and for some bands I say that with more confidence than others. Here though I say it with urgency.

Wishmaster is perhaps the bands finest output. There is an urgency to the riffs that is not present anywhere else in their music. It is active, it is full of energy. Even in the follow up, the music is slower and more lethargic than it is here. It's this life to the music that makes me prefer this to any other album (except maybe Oceanborn). 

Sure there are additional songs here and there in the bands discography that share a similar energy, but here its everywhere. It's bustling with life. The band fully leaned into complex riffs, interactions between the keyboards and guitar leads. Classical songwriting without the orchestra. The band did the playing of the melodies, not the full symphony of the later albums. It's stripped down, and it's better music for it.

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